Nvidia applauds FTC action against Intel

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has issued an official statement expressing his support for the US Federal Trade Commission's legal action against Intel.

"We support [the] action by the FTC, which has fully recognized Intel's behavior as an impediment to progress in the computer industry and to consumer choice," said Jen-Hsun.

"As the FTC states, when Intel fell behind in innovation within its core CPU market, it moved to smother competition in the GPU marketplace. This has curbed innovation and investment and reduced consumer choice."

?Jen-Hsun added that the GPU remained a "critical" component for a number of common applications, such as graphics, video and photo processing.

"[The] filing is sorely needed to stop Intel from using unlawful tactics to lock out the GPU and block consumers from its revolutionary benefits," added Jen-Hsun.

Meanwhile, ABI researcher Kevin Burden told TG Daily that whatever actions the FTC takes will apply to all of Intel's business units, including the division responsible for its mobile-oriented Atom processor.

"ARM-based processors are the leading architecture powering mobile phones and while Atom has had early success in the netbook segment, ARM-based processors are positioned to capture a growing, and possibly a significant share of new netbook models in the coming year," explained Burden.

"Intel's position in the netbook market is already threatened by the low power consumption and connectivity capabilities of ARM processors. If successful, these actions by the FTC would make it that much easier for ARM to extend its lead in mobile devices."??